Fred Carroll

Fred Carroll
Fred Carroll 1887 baseball card
Catcher / Outfield
Born: July 2, 1864(1864-07-02) Sacramento, California
Died: November 7, 1904(1904-11-07) (aged 40) San Rafael, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 1, 1884 for the Columbus Buckeyes
Last MLB appearance
August 18, 1891 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career statistics
Batting average	.284
Hits	820
Runs	546
Home runs	27
Runs batted in	366
On-base plus slugging	.778
Teams
Columbus Buckeyes (1884) Pittsburg Alleghenys (1885 - 1889) Pittsburgh Burghers (1890) Pittsburgh Pirates (1891)

Frederick Herbert (Fred) Carroll (July 2, 1864 – November 7, 1904) was a catcher and outfielder in Major League Baseball. From 1884 through 1891, he played with the Columbus Buckeyes (1884) and for the Pittsburgh teams Alleghenys (1885–89), Burghers (1890) and Pirates (1891). Carroll batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Sacramento, California.

Baseball career

In an eight-season Major League career, Carroll posted a .284 batting average with 27 home runs and 366 RBI in 754 games played.

In 1886 Carroll compiled career-high numbers in hits (140) and doubles (28) while batting .288 with 92 runs and 64 RBI. The next season he went .328, 71, 54, and had a career-high 15 triples.

In August 1886, Carroll was briefly suspended after fighting with a teammate, first baseman Otto Schomberg. Schomberg was unpopular with his teammates, and the fight started after Carroll referred to him with what The Sporting News subsequently termed "vile names". The pair were separated by Frank Ringo and Ed Glenn, and while Carroll was immediately suspended, the suspension was short-lived. The directors of the Pittsburg Alleghenys convened a meeting that night, and after the players refused to testify, Carroll was reinstated and his penalty was reduced to a $50 fine.

On May 2, 1887 Carroll became the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle.

Carroll died in San Rafael, California, at age 40.

Legacy

According Bill James in his book Baseball Abstract, Carroll has been the best "young" catcher before Johnny Bench. A victim of the 1890s Brotherhood, he also was a competent outfielder and played shortstop, first base, and third as well. James also remarks that Carroll's major league career was shortened by his dislike of living on the East Coast.

Carroll holds a major league catchers record for age 24 in OPS with a .970 mark, set in 1889. The same season, he posted a career-high .330 BA and a .930 fielding percentage as catching. An above-average runner with good instincts, he compiled 137 stolen bases in his career.

During the 1887 season Carroll, is rumored to have buried his pet monkey, which served as an unofficial team mascot for the team, beneath the home plate at Pittsburgh's Recreation Park, in a pre-game ceremony. The stadium stood at the corner of North, Grant, and Pennsylvania Avenues on Pittsburgh's Northside.

Highlights

• Led NL in on base percentage (1889, .486)
• Led NL in OPS (1889, .970)
• Became the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle (May 2, 1887)
• Set a major league record with nine hits in a doubleheader (July 5, 1886)

See also

• Hitting for the cycle

External links

• Baseball in Graceland
• Baseball Library
• Baseball Reference
• Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers